Musikfest beer stein purchasers to get $2,378 for Chinese-made mugs

View full sizeTwo people who bought Chinese-made Musikfest beer steins falsely advertised as handcrafted in Germany will be paid a total of $2,378.Image from ArtsQuest's online store

Two people who bought Chinese-made Musikfest beer steins falsely advertised as handcrafted in Germany will be paid a total of $2,378.

ArtsQuest attorney Patrick Reilly said the amount was the most the two plaintiffs could have received under their lawsuit and that it was cheaper for the Bethlehem-based arts organization to pay the amount than continue the court case.

“This is purely a business decision,” he said today. “This isn’t a decision based on their merits. Their allegations are meritless.”

After adamantly denying the steins were made in China, ArtsQuest officials have since said the bodies of the steins were made in China but various modifications are made to them in Germany, according to court documents. Since Stoneback filed her claim last year, ArtsQuest now denotes that the stein bodies are made in China but that all other components are made in Germany, court documents say.

The organization continues to sell the steins for $70.

Stoneback will get $508.75 in the most recent settlement and fellow plaintiff Michael Grube, who had purchased many more steins over the years, will get $1,869.48. Stoneback and Grube also are entitled to have their attorney fees paid under the settlement made public today. Their attorney, Justin Swidler, didn’t immediately return a call for comment.